USCCB President Makes Thanksgiving Day Appeal for Protection of the Vulnerable, Especially Migrant & Refugee Families

November 20, 2017

WASHINGTON— Cardinal Daniel N.
DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishops (USCCB), offers a Thanksgiving Day message to the nation with special
gratitude for the gift
of immigrants and refugees.

Full statement follows:

"As
we do every year, we will pause this coming Thursday to thank God for the many
blessings we enjoy in the United States. My brother bishops and I,
gathered last week in Baltimore, were attentive in a special way to those who
are often excluded from this great abundance—the poor, the sick, the addicted,
the unborn, the unemployed, and especially migrants and refugees.

My
brothers expressed a shared and ever-greater sense of alarm—and urgency to
act—in the face of policies that seemed unthinkable only a short time
ago: the deportation of Dreamers, young hard-working people who should be
the lowest priority for deportation; the anxiety and uncertainty of those with
Temporary Protected Status from countries like Haiti, El Salvador, and
Honduras, which are still recovering from natural disasters and remain
ill-equipped to humanely receive and integrate them; and an unprecedented
reduction in the number of people we will welcome this year into our country
who seek refuge from the ravages of war and religious persecution in their
countries of origin.

One
common feature of all these developments is their tendency to tear apart the
family, the fundamental building block of our, or any, society. These
threats to so many vulnerable immigrant and refugee families must end
now. My brothers have urged me to speak out on their behalf to urge the
immediate passage—and signature—of legislation that would alleviate these
immediate threats to these families.

Another
common feature of these policies is that they are symptoms of an immigration
system that is profoundly broken and requires comprehensive reform. This
is a longer-term goal, one that the bishops have advocated for decades to
achieve, and one that must never be overlooked. Only by complete reform
will we have the hope of achieving the common goals of welcoming the most
vulnerable, ensuring due process and humane treatment, protecting national
security, and respecting the rule of law. We are committed to such reforms and
will continue to call for them.

So
this year, I give thanks for the gift and contributions of immigrants and
refugees to our great nation. I also pray that next year, families now under
threat will not be broken and dispersed, but instead will be united in joy
around their tables, giving thanks for all the blessings our nation has to
offer.

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